Checking out of a hotel in Kiel, Germany, I was surprised to find an additional amount on my bill under the title 'Übernachtungssteuer'. Was this the ubiquitous 'resort fee' in another guise? Indeed it was. I reeled with shock at the fact that resort fees had migrated across the Atlantic and struck at the heart of the Bundesrepublik. Here it was in black and white, another example of hoteliers' drip pricing. It's difficult to ascertain when this sly practice began, but it seems to have originated from that sinful city of Las Vegas and been quickly adopted by the hotel sprawl of both Miami and Orlando.
In 2012, the US Federal Trade Commission wrote to 22 hotels warning them that their fees were not clear on websites promoting the property, but the number of offenders has substantially grown since then.
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